Q: I keep reading that the shape of your biceps is genetic and you can’t change it, but in the X-traordinary Arms e-book that came in my Anabolic After 40 package (which I love, by the way!) you say you can change the shape of your biceps. I’ve even seen respected scientists say that changing the shape of a muscle can’t be done. How do you respond?
A: What those scientists are referring to is the length of a muscle. For example, if you have a short biceps, with a gap between the lower part of the muscle and the elbow joint when it’s flexed, you can’t fill in that gap. You’ve simply been born with a high biceps insertion point (like a high calf muscle). To fill in the gap would require muscle reattachment surgery, which we obviously don’t recommend.
However, you can use exercises that focus on one head of a muscle to give it a different look—genetics willing, of course. For example, concentration curls train the outer biceps for more peak because of the inward angle of your upper arm, while spider curls, with the lower
Another example is keeping your feet close on squats, which hits more of the outer quadriceps (vastus lateralis) for
The same holds true for angling your feet on leg extensions—toes out hits more inner quad, while toes angled inward hits more of the outer area (for
If you want to change the shape of your biceps, try experimenting with the specific exercises mentioned above and even changing how wide your grip the bar for barbell curls. Just remember to focus on “in for out and out for in.”
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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